{"id":65788,"date":"2025-10-07T23:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T23:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/65788\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T23:48:10","slug":"key-sign-economy-on-brink-of-collapse-as-huge-storm-erupts-over-victorias-work-from-home-laws-holy-moly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/65788\/","title":{"rendered":"Key sign economy on brink of collapse as huge storm erupts over Victoria’s work from home laws: ‘Holy moly’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A popular cafe has been forced to reduce its service to takeaway only, as fears mount more businesses will struggle if work-from-home is enshrined in Victorian law.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The owners of Monkey Bean at Toorak Village, in south-east Melbourne<\/a>, raises a sign in the front door informing diners the kitchen was closed and table service scrapped.<\/p>\n

Diners were reassured that the cafe would still serve ‘fabulous coffee’, however this service would now be provided through its window.<\/p>\n

The update comes as debate rages over the Victorian government’s proposed working from home laws, with experts warning more businesses could close due to reduced foot traffic in typically busy areas.<\/p>\n

Premier Jacinta Allan announced in August her government was putting together proposed legislation which gives people the right to work from home two days a week if they can.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There also fears workers in health services, emergency services, building and construction and transport would ‘resent’ those such as officer workers who can perform their job from home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Sally Curtain is among the critics, saying businesses already offer flexible hybrid working choices for staff, arguing ‘if it’s not broken, why try and fix it’.<\/p>\n

‘We don\u2019t need new laws to tell businesses to do what they\u2019re already doing,’ Ms Curtain said in an opinion piece published on the VCCI website on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Monkey <\/p>\n

Monkey Bean\u00a0placed a notice on the front door saying it would only be serving coffee from a streetside take-away window<\/p>\n

\"Premier <\/p>\n

Premier Jacinta Allan’s proposed WFH laws haven been met with backlash<\/p>\n

‘There\u2019s no argument from business that flexible work is here to stay. Flexibility is happening organically because it works, not because legislation forced it.<\/p>\n

‘Part-time work has existed for decades, and hybrid work has become the norm since the pandemic. To regulate what is already reality is not reform – it is waste.’<\/p>\n

Ms Curtain also highlighted concerning statistics about about how hard it is to do business in Victoria.<\/p>\n

‘Concerningly 57 per cent of surveyed businesses say it is harder to operate here than in other states,’ she said.<\/p>\n

‘More than one-third of businesses said they would expand outside Victoria if these laws proceed. That\u2019s a risk we cannot afford to take.’<\/p>\n

Already in Melbourne several high-profile businesses especially in the hospitality sector have closed.<\/p>\n

These include high-flying Melbourne chef Teage Ezard’s Ginger Boy which closed down last year after nearly 20 years of business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Ezard has since been diagnosed with the rare neurological disorder Multiple System Atrophy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Inside <\/p>\n

Inside Gingerboy – one of the many venues that have shut in Melbourne<\/p>\n

And tradesman who run their own companies have been forced to slash staff and operate as sole traders as people strive to save every penny’s worth of income.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Liberal MP Georgie Crozier was stunned after spotting the notice stuck to the front door of Monkey Bean.<\/p>\n

‘I was shocked, I was going “crikey if these guys are closing then this is a sign of the times”,’ Ms Crozier said.<\/p>\n

‘People would be in there it’s busy, you know breakfast and coffees, I’ve gone “holy moly”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The notice informed diners that its kitchen would be closed, and the cafe would only be serving coffee from its window.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We are sorry to announce that due to ever-increasing cost of living pressures, we have made the difficult decision to close the Monkey Bean kitchen for the foreseeable future,’ the sign read.<\/p>\n

‘We apologise for any inconvenience this will cause. The Monkey Bean team would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our regulators for your continued support and loyalty.’<\/p>\n

Ms Curtain also warned the ‘two-day’ rule could fuel resentment from employees who can’t do their jobs at home.<\/p>\n

\"High-flying <\/p>\n

High-flying Melbourne chef Teage Ezard’s Gingerboy which closed down last year after nearly 20 years of business<\/p>\n

‘For many sectors, hospitality, retail, logistics, health, manufacturing, working from home isn\u2019t possible,’ she said.<\/p>\n

‘This legislation risks breeding inequity and resentment between employees who can work remotely and those who cannot.<\/p>\n

‘Business leaders consistently tell us what they need from government, less red tape, lower costs and more certainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We know that business thrives when given freedom to adapt. Government should enable that creativity, not restrict it.’<\/p>\n

Victorian Liberal Leader Brad Battin today said he wants to make sure the WFH proposal doesn’t cost jobs.<\/p>\n

‘We support anyone who has that flexibility for work from home and the work\/life balance and it’s been working here in Victoria, obviously particularly since Covid,’ Mr Battin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘But we also say to Jacinta Allan it’s now her responsibility, she’s come out with the policy but she needs to explain.<\/p>\n

‘Is it going to cost jobs in Victoria and is it going to distract from people wanting to invest in Victoria and what’s the long-term outcome of this…<\/p>\n

\"Monkey <\/p>\n

Monkey Bean in Toorak has been forced to only sell take away coffees due to rising prices<\/p>\n

‘We support the flexibility, we support the the balance but we want to make sure it doesn’t cost jobs in this state.’<\/p>\n

When spruiking their WFH plan on August 2, Labor said the proposal would save\u00a0families money, cut congestion and be ‘good for business’<\/p>\n

‘Those who work from home are working nearly 20 per cent more hours than those who are working in the office full time,’ a media release stated.<\/p>\n

‘Work from home has changed millions of lives. While not everyone can work from home, everyone can still benefit.’<\/p>\n

Labor also claimed the laws were there to protect workers\u00a0‘who have been denied reasonable requests to work from home’.<\/p>\n

‘Across the country, Liberals are drawing up plans to abolish work-from-home and force workers back to the office and back to the past,’ the statement read.<\/p>\n

Labor is currently undertaking a consultation process before it drafts the legalisation and presents it to parliament.<\/p>\n

This consultation process won\u2019t determine whether working from home should be a right,’ the statement read.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Work from home works for families and it\u2019s good for the economy,’ Premier Allan said in August.<\/p>\n

‘Not everyone can work from home, but everyone can benefit. If you can do your job from home, we\u2019ll make it your right, because we\u2019re on your side.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A popular cafe has been forced to reduce its service to takeaway only, as fears mount more businesses…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,539,113,61,60,44787,24785,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-65788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-jacinta-allan","14":"tag-melbourne","15":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}